We knew that handbag was good for something.
It’s no secret that the late Queen was a fan of jam. The former royal chef, Darren McGrady, revealed in a YouTube video that Her Maj enjoyed a jam sandwich for afternoon tea every day. Her favourite sponge cake – a Victoria sponge – comes with a strawberry jam filling, and her best scone recipe is always served with jam and clotted cream.
But in a new excerpt from The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana by former royal butler Paul Burrell, which was published by the Daily Mail, we’ve learned that the Queen had a particular fondness for one particular sweet condiment – so much so, she would have it brought with her, no matter where she travelled.
Related story: This is the one drink Queen Elizabeth II would order on a plane before take off
The Queen’s favourite
“Each year on her annual visit to Helmingham Hall in Suffolk, her hostess Lady Tollemache would give the Queen a jar of quince jelly made from fruit grown in her garden,” Burrell writes.
The Queen loved this jelly so much, she never wanted to be parted from it.
“This jar appeared on the table every teatime, whichever residence Her Majesty was in,” Burrell writes. “This meant carrying the jar around the world until it was finished.”
Related story: How the Queen’s favourite foods changed eating habits around the world
Pomp up the jam
Elizabeth II was a big fan of home-grown and homemade produce; something that her son Charles has inherited from his long-reigning mum. Burrell reveals that the Queen and Princess Margaret enjoyed picking strawberries at Balmoral, and would be “like two giggling schoolchildren” as they gathered their juicy bounty.
“They picked their strawberries, and then the ones left over, they’d ask the pastry chef to make jam,” Burrell writes. “Woe betides if anyone touched it. That was their jam, and they would eat it until it was gone.”
How the late Queen would feel about all her secrets being laid bare in a tell-all book? We’re guessing she might quite like to put her ex-butler in a jam for his efforts.
Related story: The King has revealed his favourite snack. It’s about as exciting as you’d expect
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